ROSEANNA MITSCHANGELA CASSEL

Best Practices Day 2

Small Group Activity

Students Age and GradeStudents Functioning LevelBehaviors - DescribeStaffing (Staff Ratio)Toileting Issues?Parental supportLevel of inclusion (Academics/Social)

What is Pairing?

“A procedure for establishing teachers, peers, materials and the environment as conditioned reinforcers.

A conditioned reinforcer is a type of reinforcer that obtains its value by having been paired with other reinforcers.

Learners who have many conditioned reinforcers will learn important skills more easily.

How long does it take?

It can take minutes….It can take hours..It can take days..

Pairing is an ongoing process

The goal of pairing is for the learner to like to be with the staff and to approach him or her without hesitation.

What can Pairing look like?

How do you embed it into the dayHow do you teach and pair at the same time?

Ex. Math Center/Lesson on ScheduleInstruction should continue while pairing but

demands won’t be high. Review of previously mastered skills W0rking on learned concepts in a fun way with A LOT

of reinforcement…

Suggestions for Pairing

Example classes with only 2 and/or 3 staff. How it can still take place….

Still following a daily schedule….How to pair with kids who are included all

day…Pairing with low functioning vs high

functioningPairing in a regular education classroom.

Pairing

Once staff is paired with the child, the child will willingly approach and seek out the staff. This relationship will increase learning. It is imperative all staff are paired with the children

they are assigned.

Pairing is an ongoing process that should

occur daily.

NO REINFORCEMENT = NO LEARNING (Andy Bondy)

Why to we do this?

We want out learners to want to be with us. Run towards us….Not away from us

We want to be seen as givers not takers.

Establishes instructional control

Establishing Instructional Control

Pairing establishes instructional control, but how do you know when you have instructional control. Student follows various instructions Student asks for motivating items. Able to fade in number of instructional demands Able to fade in difficulty of instructional demands

If demands are placed to quickly, you will have an unwilling learner.

Steps for Pairing

Identify the learner’s reinforcers

Identify items, people, or activities that are fun or reinforcing for the learner.

This can be done by completing: Reinforcer Surveys, Preference Assessments, Observing the Learner….

Reinforcer Surveys

Getting Started:

Review home survey, IEP, and ER/RR to see what information is included. This is helpful to include in students present levels!

Observe learner in all school environments. See what the learner is interested in.

Reinforcer Survey

Evaluating Learner’s Response to Environment

Look at learner’s behaviors when interacting with different stimuli in the environment

Remember: Learners respond differently to a variety of sensory stimuli

Reinforcer Survey

Learner’s Response to Environment VISUAL: sight

Example: Enjoys changes in lighting, colors; moving vs. still stimuli; enjoys puzzles, drawing; toys moving parts, etc.

AUDITORY: sound Example: Enjoys changes in pitch, tone, volume; loud vs. quiet; music and

singing; talking toys; tapping patterns, musical instruments, etc. TACTILE: touch

Example: Enjoys textures (soft, hard, rough, smooth, wet, dry) in relation to clothing, food, toys, hugs, tickles, sand, water play, etc.

KINETIC: movement Example: Enjoys motion vs. sedentary activities such as jumping, bouncing,

swinging, spinning, etc. GUSTATORY: taste

Example: Enjoys food or drinks: salty, sweet, sour, crunchy, soft, spicy, hot, cold, etc.

OLFACTORY: smell Example: Enjoys sniffing candles, putty, perfume, food etc.

Reinforcer Survey

Using the Reinforcer Survey

Check off items, activities, people, or actions your learner enjoys on survey and indicate the level of interest.

Observe the learner’s behavior while interacting happy, upset, engaged, or disinterested.

Ask the student Use Pictures if needed

An Additional Thought….

Follow the learners changing interest….

What was valuable today may not be valuable tomorrow…

Preferred Items/Activities should appear because you made it available. Try and Limit “Free Access” to preferred items.

Group Activity

Practice using a Reinforcer Survey on your chosen student

Develop a Pairing Plan for the first week of school

Share with the Group:What did you like?What would you change?What was helpful?Do you use one that was not presented today?

Reinforcement & Preference Assessments

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Reinforcement exists in each and every one of our lives…

Would you go to work if you were not getting paid to be there?

Have you ever told yourself…first I’ll do the food shopping then I will go to Starbucks!!!

Examples from the Group:

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Selecting Reinforcers

ALWAYS keep in mind…what serves as a reinforcer for me is different than what serves a reinforcer for you I LOVE _____…I will do anything for ______…would

you??? How many times have you told a student what they

will work for??? Yes…I reinforce my students…on Friday afternoon

they watch a movie! Is this reinforcement???

Concerns & Realities

Concerns Realities

I can't give him m&ms all day everyday

we will work towards changing the schedule of reinforcement...we will get into that as the year progresses!

He is ALWAYS going to want/expect this

we will teach him to like other things too/we will pair with him so we are a form of reinforcement!

Would you rather…not use reinforcement and get hit, spit on, learning is forced and students are always trying to avoid you

OR…use reinforcement and have a fun environment where students want to be and want to learn

Conducting a Preference Assessment21

Ask Ask the individual Ask those who know the individual best

Observe Look to see what the student gravitates toward…

For our more challenging students or lower functioning students…keep an open mind.

Do a formal Preference Assessment Paired Choice Multiple Stimulus

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Reinforcement is more than JUST rewards

We need to start to think…how can I make my instruction more reinforcing? think about what the students likes: computer, art’s

and crafts, food How can I embed my teaching into fun highly

motivating activities? How would they respond to painting their spelling

words, making their words out of play-doh, making a powerpoint presentation, listening to a book on tape, making an imovie, doing some instruction on the ipad??

Offer choicesExamples from the group…

Time for a Break….

Please be back in 15 minutes….

Competent Learner Model

What do you know about CLM?

Competent Learner Model

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A multi-component package for addressing the individual learning needs of children who have difficulty participating in typical learning environments

Who is this appropriate for???

CLM is appropriate for:

Individuals with complicated learning profiles of all ages (autism, PDD, behavioral difficulties, other developmental disabilities)

Individuals who do NOT participate during instructional conditions and/or exhibit challenging behavior problems to avoid or escape instructional conditions

Individuals who do NOT learn from ‘Model-Lead-Test” or other didactic instructional conditions

Individuals who are missing many of the repertoires to be successful at school, home, or in the community

Competent Learner Model

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Goal: To implement effective and sustainable

educational programs for children with challenging learning problems

Competent Learner Model

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Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)Analysis of Verbal BehaviorDirect InstructionPrecision Teaching

*Over 30 years of research that looked at effective methods of educating students.

Effective

Foundation

Components of CLM

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1. Learner assessments2. Supplemental curriculum with effective

teaching strategies3. Staff training with coaching and

collaborative consultation4. Coaching and Implementation

guidelines

Sustainable

Day to Day Instructional Practices

Show and TellGo figure it out!Read about itListen!Try harder!

Show and Tell

Observe the demonstration

Listen to what is said

Echo/report back Problem solve and

ask for clarification Participate

throughout the whole event

Go Figure it Out!

Problem Solve Ask questions Manipulate

materials Observe

Identify what others are doing

Read The cues of others

Participate and persist

Read About It

ReadListen and adhere

to the instructionProblem solve and

ask for clarificationParticipate in the

activity

Listen!

Observe the speakerListen to the instructionAdhere to/act upon the instructionProblem solve by asking for clarificationParticipate in the event

Try Harder!

Participate and persistProblem solve

Asking appropriate questions Manipulate the materials

For some of our students

They are not able to learn new skills through typical instruction

Why? Because the skills that are needed to be a

competent learner are either weak or do not exist at all

Because they do not value the instructor, the materials, the activity, or the end product

We may be able to teach a skill or action occasionally but what is we could teach the students how to learn.

The Repertoires

• Talker

• Listener

• Observer

• Reader

• Problem Solver

• Writer

• Participator

7 Repertoires

The seven are repertoires that all learners need in order to progress in educational settings and to function in daily life.

The development of and instruction within these seven repertoires is needed to help learners learn new skills.

These repertoires are based upon B.F. Skinner’s (1957) analysis of functional language that provides a framework for developing communication, observing and listening skills, and the pre-academic skills of reading and writing

Talker

Echoes a modeled response

Articulates clear ideas (i.e., factual or inferential statements)

Answers questions on topic

Listener

Follows directions Adheres to advice

imparted by a talker.

Observer

Performs careful and direct observations to produce factual information

Matches to sample, sorts, and imitates

Reader

The learner reads the material fluently

Answers questions about the material

Performs the actions as directed by the material.

Problem Solver

When faced with a problem:behave to

maximize the likelihood to generate a solution.

Writer

Produces written materials to convey clear ideas (i.e., factual or inferential).

Participator

Participates consistently in a variety of instructional conditions: Teacher-directed (t-d) Semi-directed (s-d) Peer-directed (p-d) Non-directed (n-d)

Continues to work hard even when exposed to novel and/or difficult contingencies

A Closer Look at Participator

Semi-Directed: Completes parts of tasks with a teacher near by.

Teacher Directed: Performs sets of responses upon teacher direction. Answers on signal from teacher.

Non-Directed: Selects and uses a variety of items/objects in a non-directed way.

Peer-Directed: Accepts/gives items to peers. Takes Turns.

Activity

Think about the activities that you completed before you came to work today. Example: Got up, Made Coffee, Ate Breakfast, etc.

Identify the different repertoires?

Share with your group

Group Work

In your small group: Talk about the type of learner your student is.

What types of lessons and activities should be planned?

What types of interactions should the staff use with the learner

What should inclusion look like?

Time for Lunch….

Please be back in 1 hour…

Enjoy your lunch

Getting Ready for the School Year

Establish the classroom schedules and routines on the first day of school.

Have a schedule ready on the first day

Know what your routines are and start teaching them on the first day. Keep teaching them and reviewing them as needed throughout the year. Keep in mind that after long breaks from school, routines will need to be reviewed.

Setting Up A Schedule

Develop basic daily class scheduleEstablish instructional time incrementsPost schedule in room Sync reward systems for all students

(embedded transition time is reward time)Develop weekly schedules that include

therapies and specialsDevelop staff schedule that covers all

students, times, staff and data collection

Student Schedules

Each student should have a schedule to follow.

Make sure that they have access to the schedule at all times. Don’t hide it

Different types of schedules: Picture Schedule Check List Written Schedule Examples from the group:

Managing Students – Social Skills Development

Foundation for interacting and getting along with others

Some students need to be taught each skill discretely

Programming for social skills is just as important as programming for academic tasks

Take into consideration when programming that students learn best from peer models

This should be include this in your schedules

Managing Students – Social Skills Development

Look for opportunities for inclusion as well as reverse inclusion

Social skills can and should be worked on all day as we are all in social situations all day.

Creating a Backup Schedule

Staff Absence/No Sub Teacher Out – No Sub Teacher and Staff Out – No Sub

Changes to Speech, OT or PT ScheduleBuilding Schedule Change – Ex: PSSA Testing

Staff Schedules

Each Staff Member should have a schedule to follow.

Everyone should know what they are to be doing when. Also where the instruction is to take place Where the materials are located

Materials should be prepped and ready for when the scheduled activity is going to take place.

Data Collection – What data is to be collected when and by who?

Routines

Establish routines from the first day of school.

Teach the students what it is they need to do to accomplish the routines.

You will need to work on this daily at first and then re-visit as need.

Once routines are taught and mastered, the day will run more smoothly and the students will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and when.

Example Routines…

Arrival (hanging bag, checking schedule, choosing lunch, etc.)

Lunch and RecessLeaving the room as a class, walking in the

hallsGoing to Speech/OT/PTWhat to bring to the math area.Leaving at end of the day (packing book bags,

etc.)

Set up Learning Environment

Classroom set up reflects instructional conditions (Teacher Directed, Semi Directed, Peer Directed, Non-Directed)

Where will large group work take place?Where will individual work place?Where is the reading area?Where is the math area?Where is the leisure area?

Managing the Physical Environment

Setting up the Physical Classroom

Inviting and conducive to learning

Neat and organized so staff can locate materials

Free of clutter

Make sure staff can easily see students in various locations of room

Managing the Physical Environment

Seating for learners

Chair and table height – feet on floor – consult OT

Keep in mind learner behaviors EX. “eloper” – not a good idea to put work area by a

door

Minimize classroom distraction Use dividers and/or partitions within the classroom, if

necessary

Managing the Physical Environment

Classroom Posts

Being prepared for teaching not in classroom; class should be able to run without the teacher being present

Post student and student schedules – being aware of where to be at any given time

Secure location for confidential staff and student information Staff should know where these materials are placed

for emergency situation

Managing the Physical Environment

Arrangement of Instructional Materials Ex. Curriculums, Supplemental Materials, etc.

Making sure all staff know where items are located and where to get needed times.

Classroom Map Activity

Think about your classroom.

Draw it out Does anything need to be changed? Does anything need to be moved? Where will instruction be most effective?

Time Management

There are 6.5 available hours in the school day.

Every minute is valuable!!! Goal is to maximize the amount of time a

learner is focused on learningThe amount of academic time is significantly

reduced after thinking about all the events that take place in a given day Lunch, recess, arrival, toileting

Effective Teaching Procedures

1. Pair teaching environments with reinforcement and use competing reinforcers

2. Mix and vary instructional demands3. Reduce student error4. Intersperse easy and difficult demands5. Fade in number of demands6. Pace instruction properly 7. Teach to fluency8. Generalization of Skills

Effective Teaching Procedures

These teaching procedures are used to increase:

student compliancestudent rate of acquisitionstudent response time and accuracyoverall number of skills in the student’s

repertoire

Errorless Teaching

One of the most common complaints about errorless learning (EL) is that it "makes children prompt dependent."

This can be true if the teacher doesn't properly fade the prompts. Transfer trials, in which prompts are immediately faded to allow

for independent responses, are critical to success with EL. Rather than following a set prompt level to criterion, it is

preferable to use most-to-least prompting and adjust your prompting moment-to-moment according to the child's responses.

A good rule of thumb to follow is that for every prompted trial you run, immediately run an unprompted, or transfer, trial. This procedure looks like this: Teacher: "What is it? Cookie. (echoic prompt)"

Child: "Cookie."Teacher: "Right. What is it? (no echoic prompt)"Child: "Cookie." (Teacher immediately reinforces.)

Christinaburkaba.com

Fast Paced Instruction

Instruction which is delivered in a fast pace manner can reduce problem behavior and student errors.

Fast Paced Delivery of Instruction

The instructor should teach quickly and keep the time in between the learner’s response and next instruction to less than 2-3 seconds.

Teaching to Fluency

Teaching skills correct and quick as opposed to just correct

Expect your learners to have a response time of less than 2-3 seconds. This means they are responding within 2-3 seconds of a instruction.

Small Group Activity

Think about the students you work with and discuss with your group how you will utilize the Effective Teaching Procedures.

Data

We should be making data based decisionsData should be reviewed before making

decisions. Example: Curriculum Changes; Modifications

Data should be collected and Graphed on ALL IEP goals and objectives. These should be identified at the start of the year and

monitored daily/weekly/monthly based on IEP. Data should be monitored prior to progress reporting.

Interventions can be in place to ensure student in making progress towards IEP Goals/Objectives.

Sample Data Graph

Small Group Activity

Come up with some ways to collect and monitor data on the skills your student needs to work on.

Sample Implementation Action Plan

Behavioral Interventions

Behavior Protocols

The following Applied Behavior Analysis Behavior Protocols are only to be used if the learner does not have a Behavior

Intervention Plan.

Behavioral Interventions

Accepting NoCount and MandInterruption TransitionWait

Accepting No

Objective: This is a protocol to teach a student to accept being told “no” as a replacement for problem behavior.

It is most often taught to students who exhibit problem behavior when they are told they can’t have something that they want.

When to use the Accepting No Protocol….

A Learner wants something that they can not have… Example:

Food Allergy Item is broken/Needs Batteries Other Ideas from the group???

Steps to The Running Accepting No Protocol

1. When the learner mands for the activity/item, tell him “no.” As you say no, bring up a reinforcer and offer another activity by saying “but you can have or do this ______ instead.”

Ex. ?You can’t have _____ but you can have ______ or ______.”

2. If the Learner does not engage in problem behavior, deliver reinforcer.

3. If the learner does engage in problem behavior, put the reinforcer away and withdraw the offer.

4. Do not attend to problem behavior and leave the area if the learner will not engage in unsafe behaviors or continue with previous demand/task situations.

The Count and Mand Protocol

Objective: To reduce problem behavior to obtain items and activities by teaching the appropriate mands.

Example: A learner wants something that they can have but not for engaging in inappropriate behavior - teach acceptable form of communication

When to use the Count and Mand Protocol….

If the learner has Poor language skills Manifested by tantrum, crying, hitting, escape Extinguish current behavior & replace with a more

appropriate behavior (vocal, sign, gesture, picture) The learner is using behaviors to gain access

to a desired item. Example: Having a tantrum to get access to the

Thomas Train

Steps to Running the Count and Mand Protocol

1. Tell learner to stop “behavior” and begin counting showing fingers counting off to 3.

2. If behavior continues during count, re- start the count

3. If learner runs off, stop counting and “ignore” learner (still keep an eye on learner to ensure safety).

4. If you reach 3 with no problem behavior, prompt learner to request desired item / activity with acceptable form of communication.

5. Deliver item/activity for proper communication

The Interruption Transition Protocol

Objective: To replace problem behavior that has been acquired when problem behavior has resulted in the removal of demands to transition to another activity and thereby the student has maintained possession of a toy, activity or item.

When to use the Interruption Transition Protocol

When a learner has trouble with transitions. Examples:

Preferred to preferred Preferred to less preferred Preferred to non-preferred Non-preferred to preferred

Appropriate reinforcement is the key

Steps to Running the Interruption Transition Protocol..

1. Approach the Learner (3-5feet) and ask the learner to leave that activity and comply to a new demand and/or transition

2. Use a “promise reinforcer”. This means that you will place the demand to transition while showing and informing the child of the reinforcer available for transitioning without problem behavior.

3. If learner complies and does not engage in problem behavior, reinforce with “promise reinforcer” or another reinforcer.

4. If learner engages in problem behavior, do not remove demand or allow access to preferred reinforcer. Remove promise reinforcer and keep the demand on the learner. Use physical guidance to obtain compliance as needed.

5. Deliver appropriate reinforcers in the activity transition

The Wait Protocol

• Objective: Teach a learner to wait for a desired item and/or restrict assess until appropriate behavior is displayed.

When to Use the Wait Protocol

This Protocol is not typically used with “early learners.” It is used more with an intermediate/advanced learner who has a language repertoire.

Passage of time increases over time. Ex. Student doesn’t like when teacher talks to

another adult. Student runs over pulling on staffs leg, yelling, etc. Say to student “wait, 1,2) over time slowly increase the amount of time the learner is required to wait.

Steps to Running the Wait Protocol

1. Tell the Learner “You will have to wait”

2. Begin counting aloud and show passage of time by using your fingers. Ex: “Wait..1..2..3…”

3. If the learner stops engaging in inappropriate behavior for an entire interval, deliver reinforcer.

4. If the learner continues to engage in inappropriate behavior, start your count over. Continue for three counts.

5. If the learner continues to engage in inappropriate behavior at the third count, the object is no longer available to the learner.

Additional Point

Use these strategies when appropriate as they come up during the day. Example:

Ending a favorite activity Having to stop using the computer Not being able to access something

Small Group Activity

Brainstorm with your group how you would embed any of these strategies within the school day school day for the student you have been working on today.

Questions/Comments??